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There are approximately 425 million people worldwide with diabetes. Approximately 75 million of these inject themselves with insulin daily. Now they may soon have a new alternative to syringes or insulin pumps. Scientists have found a new way to supply the body with smart insulin.
The new insulin can be eaten by taking a capsule or even better, within a piece chocolate.
Inside these we find tiny nano-carriers to which the insulin is encapsulated. The particles are 1/10,000th the width of a human hair and so small that you cannot even see them under a normal microscope.
“This way of taking insulin is more precise because it delivers the insulin rapidly to the areas of the body that need it most. When you take insulin with a syringe, it is spread throughout the body where it can cause unwanted side effects,” explains Professor Peter McCourt at UiT Norway's Arctic University. He is one of the researchers behind the study.
The research was recently published in Nature Nanotechnology.
uit.no
The new insulin can be eaten by taking a capsule or even better, within a piece chocolate.
Inside these we find tiny nano-carriers to which the insulin is encapsulated. The particles are 1/10,000th the width of a human hair and so small that you cannot even see them under a normal microscope.
“This way of taking insulin is more precise because it delivers the insulin rapidly to the areas of the body that need it most. When you take insulin with a syringe, it is spread throughout the body where it can cause unwanted side effects,” explains Professor Peter McCourt at UiT Norway's Arctic University. He is one of the researchers behind the study.
The research was recently published in Nature Nanotechnology.
New medicine can create a new life for diabetes patients – without needles! | UiT
Scientists have made promising discoveries and the new insulin medicine is ready to be tested on humans in 2025.
uit.no
